Jump to content

Queens Grill dining is it better


Windsurfboy
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi , we're new to cruising, had a P&O suite first time suite nice but no other benefits, so attracted by Queens Grill.

 

I noticed that Princess and Queens grills dinner menus on cunard web site were identical. I asked cunard customer service if this was a mistake or was queens grill the best culinary experience. The answer was all cunard food is great whatever dinning room, but queen's grills have butlers. Have we made a mistake in booking queens grill?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What you will get in Queens Grill accommodation and dining are the following (there may be some I don't remember):

A larger suite at 500 square feet and up

A butler who will unpack your bags and repack them if you desire

Provide you with complementary wine and or spirits

Serve you dinner en suite with the evenings QG menu if you choose

A concierge who can make travel arrangements, print out boarding passes for flights, and make reservations for dining in the ships specialty restaurants. The Concierge lounge also has coffee, tea and pastries in the morning, and newspapers and is on nine deck, mid ship as most of the QG suites are also on nine.

The Concierge will provide you with custom personalized stationary to use on board to to write to friends ashore.

In the Queens Grill restaurant you will have a daily menu, and an ala carte menu and you can order off menu with usually a half day notice, and the staff with endeavor to fulfill your request is the goods are on board.

You will share the Grills lounge across the hall from the QG restaurant with Princess Grills passengers. You can take tea in the afternoon if you wish.

You will also share the Grills Terrace on eleven deck aft with Princess Grill passengers loungers, two hot tubs, and staff that will bring you refreshments.

 

I think you have made a very good choice in your booking. Enjoy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi , we're new to cruising, had a P&O suite first time suite nice but no other benefits, so attracted by Queens Grill.

 

I noticed that Princess and Queens grills dinner menus on cunard web site were identical. I asked cunard customer service if this was a mistake or was queens grill the best culinary experience. The answer was all cunard food is great whatever dinning room, but queen's grills have butlers. Have we made a mistake in booking queens grill?

NO you have not made a mistake yet!! But if you don't book QG you will, The Grills have the best accommodation and service far superior than anything that P&O has to offer.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We enjoyed Queens Grill in the summer. I have allergies and that was our main reason for opting for Queens Grill and the staff ensured that every meal was fine for me. The menu choice was good and the service excellent. It’s a smaller dining room and plenty of tables for two which suits us. You have the same table and wait staff every day and you can dine when you want within the restaurant opening times. We didn’t really use the services of our butler but he was there if we needed him. On finding out I had allergies he asked whether I would prefer a plate of fresh fruit instead of the daily canapés and every afternoon he delivered fresh melon, pineapple and mango. The concierge sorted out our boarding passes and we found the lounge to be a restful place to read and enjoy a coffee. We enjoyed it so much we’ve booked for next year.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have tried both. We had the Orissa suite on the Oceana and booked Queens Grill on QV.

IMO, there is absolutely no comparison. On Oceana, our so called Butler could not have been more disinterested in our well being. I split a cup of coffee on the sheet and the bed was remade with the wet dirty sheet. There is no differentiation in the dining room, no off menu requests etc.

On QV, we felt like royalty and virtually every member of staff went out of their way to ensure that we had everything we wanted.

I had a 20 minute telephone conversation with the Managing Director of P&O when we returned from Oceana and he admitted that P@O are not yet 'geared up' for Premium passengers.

I am sure you will have a wonderful time on Cunard. You might also consider Seabourn - smaller ships but great service?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having travelled all four grades I'd have to say tge food is better in the Grills. For ine thing they are cooking far fewer passengers so there is less standing around under lamps.

 

Then the off menu dishes are completely cooked to order. If you can manage it, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As you said the daily menus are identical to PG and frankly not that far off Britannia if you compare them- but the difference in QG is intimacy, service, and choice. The dining room is small and more like a fine dining restaurant ashore. The staff is fully engaged and fawns over even the smallest of details. And most fun is that you can pretty much order whatever you'd like as long as you give them a little notice. Difference in QG v PG is that the caviar is still free and plentiful. Not like it was back in the day on QE2 (I think dining on that ship was a significant step up from present day Cunard in just about every way, but that's a different thread). Current QG is the closest you can get to that today though.

 

PG is there as a less expensive alternative to those who want an elevated experience from Britannia but don't want to spring for a suite in QG. If you're fine with what you're paying for the booking just go for QG- it's a special experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its lovely to read people's grills experience. We love the atmosphere of Britannia, shortly to try Club in November, and feel it may be time to book the grills experience. No doubt once people experience grills they often re-book. For those Frasier enthusiasts I can only imagine it must be a little like Niles and Frasier Crane experiencing the golden door at the spa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As you said the daily menus are identical to PG and frankly not that far off Britannia if you compare them- but the difference in QG is intimacy, service, and choice. The dining room is small and more like a fine dining restaurant ashore. The staff is fully engaged and fawns over even the smallest of details. And most fun is that you can pretty much order whatever you'd like as long as you give them a little notice. Difference in QG v PG is that the caviar is still free and plentiful. Not like it was back in the day on QE2 (I think dining on that ship was a significant step up from present day Cunard in just about every way, but that's a different thread). Current QG is the closest you can get to that today though.

 

PG is there as a less expensive alternative to those who want an elevated experience from Britannia but don't want to spring for a suite in QG. If you're fine with what you're paying for the booking just go for QG- it's a special experience.

Having been lucky enough to be a QG passenger for many years, I would say the attention the staff give you is quite the opposite of fawning. They are very attentive to you and to the smallest details, but in a discreet way. They soon get the hang of your likes and dislikes and in our experience, all the staff go the extra mile in order to please.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi , we're new to cruising, had a P&O suite first time suite nice but no other benefits, so attracted by Queens Grill.

 

I noticed that Princess and Queens grills dinner menus on cunard web site were identical. I asked cunard customer service if this was a mistake or was queens grill the best culinary experience. The answer was all cunard food is great whatever dinning room, but queen's grills have butlers. Have we made a mistake in booking queens grill?

 

Certainly not.

 

You haven't mentioned which Cunard ship but whichever, they are amazingly good.

 

Indeed, take a look at this review of mine which covered a Queen Mary 2 voyage in a Queens Grill suite 10 months ago...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2017/01/02/queen-mary-2-remastered-trans-atlantic/

 

32093375944_843ff6e00c_z.jpg

 

I'm sure you'll notice the difference from P&O.

 

Having said that I also cruise regularly with P&O and always enjoy myself. With P&O you get what it says on the tin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having been lucky enough to be a QG passenger for many years, I would say the attention the staff give you is quite the opposite of fawning. They are very attentive to you and to the smallest details, but in a discreet way. They soon get the hang of your likes and dislikes and in our experience, all the staff go the extra mile in order to please.

 

Good morning Victoria.

 

No matter where I dine on Cunard ships, and I've dined at every level, I've always found the staff go the extra mile: not just in the Queens Grill.

 

Similarly on Hapag-Lloyd and Viking Ocean.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having travelled all four grades I'd have to say tge food is better in the Grills. For ine thing they are cooking far fewer passengers so there is less standing around under lamps.

 

Then the off menu dishes are completely cooked to order. If you can manage it, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

 

Nailed it in one Cruiseluvva.

 

And like you, I speak from experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for response, and all your thoughts. I was slightly tongue in cheek asking wether we'd made a mistake in booking queens grill. I had read a number of forums and was happy with queens grill. But the response from Cunard astounded me, it seems they are almost ashamed to say queens grills are our premium product and everything about them is the best you can get on our ships including food. If Cunard are reading this get your act together. Again thanks to everyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its lovely to read people's grills experience. We love the atmosphere of Britannia, shortly to try Club in November, and feel it may be time to book the grills experience. No doubt once people experience grills they often re-book. For those Frasier enthusiasts I can only imagine it must be a little like Niles and Frasier Crane experiencing the golden door at the spa.

 

"Stupid Silver..."

 

You are quite right there!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its lovely to read people's grills experience. We love the atmosphere of Britannia, shortly to try Club in November, and feel it may be time to book the grills experience. No doubt once people experience grills they often re-book. For those Frasier enthusiasts I can only imagine it must be a little like Niles and Frasier Crane experiencing the golden door at the spa.

 

Having seen that TV episode, I know exactly what you're saying! Thanks for the laugh and the comparison.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wind surf boy, Cunard are trying to be gracious to all customers. Would you expect to have them say that Princess Grill is less than Queens Grill. Come on? They are not "ashamed", They are trying to say your Experience what ever it will be will be great. Cunard are not on their "high horse" maybe some one else might be?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The benefits of Queens Grill class are many, but in our experience on QV, the food is the least significative of them. As others have pointed out, the menus are not very different, and quite frankly the cuisine is not that refined. Even when ordering off-menu (which I found less accessible than others said, the Maitre d' being slightly unenthusiastic), preparation is nothing special. Always good and tasty, but not amazing. Service is excellent and attentive, more so than it can be in the main dining room, obviously. The Grills on QV/QE enjoy magnificent views. The Queens Lounge is nice, but so are the other bars and lounges. But the biggest drawback of the Queens Grill dining room is that it is horribly packed. There are many tables for 2 people (which in itself is a good thing), but there is hardly any elbow room. It is just like being at a table of 6 or 8.

In my view, the compelling reasons to book QG are the large and comfortable suites, and the butler's service. I keep a vivid memory of watching us come into Venice from the terrace of our very own Q6 stateroom at the stern of the ship.

An alternative strategy might be to book a lower grade cabin (even oceanviews are nice and well appointed, or a basic balcony to enjoy the fresh air), and dine frequently at the Verandah restaurant, which in my opinion offers a considerably better culinary experience than the Queens Grill, for a modest extra charge. The only possible drawback is that the menu, while extensive, never changes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have done Princess Grill (QE2), Britannia Grill (QE2), Queen's Grill (QM2) and are booked for next August in Princess Grill on QE. For us, the value of paying so much isn't the prospect of much better cuisine or service (frankly we thought that in Britannia Restaurant on QE last month outstanding on both counts) or the bigger cabin but... having the private deck areas and outdoor dining opportunity. Here, QE was a big disappointment with dire outside deck service and supervision... a complete mess of cluttered chairs moved all about, heaps of used towels and expanses of ugly cheap tan plastic decking. We often looked longing up at the secluded civilised grill decks. And the al fresco dining area of the grills looks delightful. Here, QE/QV seem to have ever so much nicer facilities in both location, privacy and amenities than QM2. The grill lounge on her is like some naff business class lounge in some small regional airport and the outside deck is... well... not impressive on any count. QE/QV offers something that secluded, private and all the more special for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An alternative strategy might be to book a lower grade cabin (even oceanviews are nice and well appointed, or a basic balcony to enjoy the fresh air), and dine frequently at the Verandah restaurant, which in my opinion offers a considerably better culinary experience than the Queens Grill, for a modest extra charge. The only possible drawback is that the menu, while extensive, never changes.

 

We tried this strategy a couple of years back at what was then Todd English, it worked quite well up to a point. The staff and menu were indeed lovely but you are correct that the choice of food didn't change so a degree of familiarity set in over the duration. For that reason for anyone thinking along these lines I would suggest mixing it up a little rather than booking the same speciality restaurant for long durations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What you will get in Queens Grill accommodation and dining are the following (there may be some I don't remember):

A larger suite at 500 square feet and up

A butler who will unpack your bags and repack them if you desire

Provide you with complementary wine and or spirits

Serve you dinner en suite with the evenings QG menu if you choose

A concierge who can make travel arrangements, print out boarding passes for flights, and make reservations for dining in the ships specialty restaurants. The Concierge lounge also has coffee, tea and pastries in the morning, and newspapers and is on nine deck, mid ship as most of the QG suites are also on nine.

The Concierge will provide you with custom personalized stationary to use on board to to write to friends ashore.

In the Queens Grill restaurant you will have a daily menu, and an ala carte menu and you can order off menu with usually a half day notice, and the staff with endeavor to fulfill your request is the goods are on board.

You will share the Grills lounge across the hall from the QG restaurant with Princess Grills passengers. You can take tea in the afternoon if you wish.

You will also share the Grills Terrace on eleven deck aft with Princess Grill passengers loungers, two hot tubs, and staff that will bring you refreshments.

 

I think you have made a very good choice in your booking. Enjoy

 

 

Excellent summary. IMHO, the best reason for choosing Queens Grill is the substantially larger stateroom. If that is important to you, then it's worth the extra expense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We enjoyed Queens Grill in the summer. I have allergies and that was our main reason for opting for Queens Grill and the staff ensured that every meal was fine for me.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

This is one of the reasons we book Queen's Grill too. Our experience on QM2 wasn't completely up to scratch when it came to dealing with the allergies, but QV this summer were truly excellent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi just to say thanks, we choose queens grill for the larger cabin, and Cunard for the benefits that come with it . I'm not being precious as was suggested in one answer, I was however peturbed at changes that seem to make a very good strategic positioning being undermined by what looks like penny pinching . Cunard differentiates itself from other carnival products by it's more luxurious and more formal core product in Brittannia. It then adds further differentiation with the grills concept. It could have stuck at Brittannia and Grills, but they purposefully split grills into two dining rooms. Once you differentiate two products this must be at all levels. As queens and princess grills are two differentiated dining rooms then it is logical that the food offering should differ, starting with the core menu. The can't be bothered reply I recieved from Cunard to the obvious question why are the menus the same , i.e. that " all our food is great", started it all off

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What you will get in Queens Grill accommodation and dining are the following (there may be some I don't remember):

A larger suite at 500 square feet and up

A butler who will unpack your bags and repack them if you desire

Provide you with complementary wine and or spirits

Serve you dinner en suite with the evenings QG menu if you choose

A concierge who can make travel arrangements, print out boarding passes for flights, and make reservations for dining in the ships specialty restaurants. The Concierge lounge also has coffee, tea and pastries in the morning, and newspapers and is on nine deck, mid ship as most of the QG suites are also on nine.

The Concierge will provide you with custom personalized stationary to use on board to to write to friends ashore.

In the Queens Grill restaurant you will have a daily menu, and an ala carte menu and you can order off menu with usually a half day notice, and the staff with endeavor to fulfill your request is the goods are on board.

You will share the Grills lounge across the hall from the QG restaurant with Princess Grills passengers. You can take tea in the afternoon if you wish.

You will also share the Grills Terrace on eleven deck aft with Princess Grill passengers loungers, two hot tubs, and staff that will bring you refreshments.

 

I think you have made a very good choice in your booking. Enjoy

 

 

 

Plus when you are having lunch/dinner in the Princess or Queens Grill restaurants, you get to stare at the lower class passengers walking by outside on the deck.

 

I say that with humor!

 

I had my first TA crossing last June in an outside Balcony cabin on Deck 11. Had an amazing time! Doing another one in January.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What you will get in Queens Grill accommodation and dining are the following (there may be some I don't remember):

...

A concierge who can make travel arrangements, print out boarding passes for flights, and make reservations for dining in the ships specialty restaurants. The Concierge lounge also has coffee, tea and pastries in the morning, and newspapers and is on nine deck, mid ship as most of the QG suites are also on nine.

The Concierge will provide you with custom personalized stationary to use on board to to write to friends ashore.

In the Queens Grill restaurant you will have a daily menu, and an ala carte menu and you can order off menu with usually a half day notice, and the staff with endeavor to fulfill your request is the goods are on board.

...

I don't mean to be picky, but the above three excerpted points apply to those in Princess Grill as well as Queen's, except that off-menu ordering is not encouraged in Princess very often, but the occasional request will be honoured. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from Queen's, which was a most impressive experience, but having been in both Grills a few times I am just relating my experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...